Photo Editor: Michael Wichita
Text Editor: Rebecca Kern
Producer: Nicole Shea

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has been the hardest-hit area of the recent floods in the Midwest. Linn County officials say that the disaster has been handled very well, with only one death reported thus far in Cedar Rapids.

Twenty-four thousand people have been evacuated from Cedar Rapids after the Cedar River overflowed and covered 1,300 city blocks.

Yet, in contrast to the response to Hurricane Katrina, FEMA and other aid workers have been more prepared to address the floods in the Midwest. Aid workers have evacuated entire hospitals and a nursing home in Cedar Rapids, and many pets have been sent to shelters or rescued successfully from flooded homes.

Watch this slideshow and see how older residents in the Cedar Rapids area have played an active role in providing aid work.

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